The EU Settlement Scheme
Contents:
What is the EU Settlement Scheme?
The EU Settlement Scheme (EUSS) is part of the UK and European Union’s (EU) withdrawal agreement following the UK’s departure from the EU ('Brexit'). The agreement also applies between the UK and the member of states of the European Economic Area (EEA) that are outside the EU.
Before Brexit, EU citizens and their family members could exercise their EU free movement rights to live, work and settle in the UK free from immigration control. These free movement rights continued during the 11-month transition period between 31 January 2020 (the date when the UK left the EU) and 11pm on 31 December 2021 (when the transition period ended).
The EUSS provides a greatly simplified route for anyone who exercised EU free movement rights before the end of the transition period to apply for leave leading to settled status, provided they made an application on time. Applications are made online, there is no fee, but a separate application must be made by each person who qualifies (you cannot make a block application as a family). The EUSS opened for applications on 30 March 2019.
Who can apply to the EUSS
You can apply to the EUSS if:
- you are an EEA national who was living in the UK before 1 January 2021, or
- you are an EEA family member and the EEA national you accompany had the right to reside on 31 December 2020, or
- you are a non-EEA national and the sole carer of a British child (a ‘Zambrano carer’) who had the right to reside in the UK on the 31 December 2020 for that reason, or
- you were living in the UK on 31 December 2020 as the family member of a person who was born in Northern Ireland, or
- you are the family member of a British citizen who was living in an EU member state on or before 31 January 2020 ( a person with ‘Surinder Singh rights’).
In all cases you must have made a valid application and your application must have been made on time.
When is an application on-time?
Your application is on time if it was made on or before 30 June 2021 (the deadline).
If you did not apply by the deadline the Home Office may accept your late application if you can show reasonable grounds for your delay in applying. But if you are a non-EEA national your application will not be accepted after 9 August 2023 if you were entitled, because:
- you are the sole carer of a British child (a ‘Zambrano carer’) or
- you are the family member of British citizen who exercised their free movement rights in another EU member state before 1 February 2020 (a person with ‘Surinder Singh rights’).
If you failed to apply by the deadline, you may be in the UK unlawfully. You should get advice from a registered immigration adviser at level 2 or 3 before making a late application (which could be from one of the advice agencies below).
What happens while waiting for a decision
If you applied to the EUSS on time or if your late application has been accepted, you are entitled to live and work in the UK until your application is ‘finally determined’. You also have the same rights to access housing and benefits as a person who has been granted EU pre-settled status.
If you made a valid application that was on time, or your late application has been accepted you will get a certificate of application – usually through your online account or by email or post. The certificate explains what you can use it for while you are waiting for a decision - for example, to prove your right to work, rent, claim certain benefits or use NHS services in the UK.
How your application is decided and your rights following a decision
If you can prove you have lived in the UK continuously for five years you get EU settled status – this is a form of indefinite leave. You have the right to housing and benefits: see people with indefinite leave.
If you can prove you entered the UK before 1 January 2021 (or came to join a family member who had) but you do not have five years continuous residence, you get EU pre-settled status which lasts for five years. Pre-settled status is a form of limited leave but with the right to access housing and benefits only if you have a qualifying ‘right to reside’ based on the free movement rules that applied immediately before the UK left the EU. You will have a qualifying right to reside if:
- you are an EEA national who is worker (including self-employed workers, unemployed workers and those who are retired), or
- you are an EEA national who has a right to reside for other reasons (e.g. a student or a self-sufficient person), or
- you are an EEA family member who has a right to reside based on the status of the EEA national you accompany, or
- you are former EEA family member who has a retained right after your relationship ended (e.g. following death, separation).
Confirmation of EU settled or pre-settled status is provided online through an eVisa on your UK Visas and Immigration account. You can prove your status to get access to housing and benefits by applying for a share code. The share code is valid for 90 days.
If your EUSS application is refused you can appeal it to a First-tier Tribunal using the online form. You must appeal within 14 days if you are in the UK or within 28 days if you are outside the UK. You should get advice immediately from a registered adviser.
EUSS family permits
If you are the family member of a person who applied to the EUSS you can apply for leave to enter the UK to join them on an EUSS family permit. You are normally given this kind of leave if you are not entitled to apply to the EUSS yourself – typically because your relationship began after the 31 December 2020, or if arrived in the UK after 30 June 2021 (or in some cases before then – see caseworker guidance). Unlike EU pre-settled status an EUSS family permit does not give you access to housing or benefits (‘public funds’) and is treated like most other kinds of limited leave.
An EUSS family permit should not be confused with an EEA family permit. EEA family permits were issued to non-EEA nationals who were exercising their right to live in the UK as EEA family members on or before 31 December 2020. No new EEA family permits were issued after 30 June 2021 (see caseworker guidance for further details).
Advice and guidance for European nationals on the EU Settlement Scheme
There is a lot of guidance on how the EU Settlement Scheme works. Here are some of the best ones.
- The AIRE Centre has information sheets on all aspects of the EUSS and issues that arise.
- Settled offer help in different languages and have special pages for older people, disabled people, etc.
- Here for Good has advice services for EUSS applicants.
- Free Movement gives advice from expert lawyers.
- The Roma Support Group offers help to Roma people who want to obtain settled or pre-settled status. Book an appointment on 07440 743866 or 07459 319706, Monday to Friday, 11am until 4pm.
- For children, especially children leaving care, there is guidance from The Children's Society (pdf) and from Settled on assisting children and care leavers.
There is government guidance on applying for settled status and a list of organisations that give help with making EU Settlement Scheme applications.
